Korean display makers accelerate push into Chinese OLED market

(LG Display)

South Korean display companies are stepping up efforts to target China’s organic light-emitting diode (OLED) market as Chinese home appliance companies rapidly transition from liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors to premium OLED monitors.

According to industry sources on Sunday, TCL Technology Group Corp. recently released its first OLED monitor, adopting the latest OLED panel from LG Display Co.

The TCL 32X3A OLED monitor delivers 4K resolution and a 240-hertz refresh rate. It also features a dynamic frequency and resolution (DFR) function that allows the monitor to switch to 1080p at up to 480 Hz to meet demand from e-sports gamers.

The technology can currently be implemented only through LG Display’s OLED panels. TCL is said to have selected the panel for its first OLED monitor because of the feature. TCL is a strong player in the TV market but a relative newcomer in monitors.

Chinese panel makers including TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co. (CSOT), Everdisplay Optronics Co. (EDO) and BOE Technology Group Co. have yet to match Korean firms in the mass-production scale and performance of OLED panels, sources said.

OLED panels produced by TCL CSOT are currently used mainly in smartphones and smartwatches. As Chinese companies have yet to master mass production of large OLED panels used in TVs and monitors, they still rely on Korean-made panels.

Meanwhile, in the LCD segment where Chinese firms have long focused, TCL CSOT panels are widely used in both monitors and TVs.

TCL’s decision to launch its first OLED monitor after focusing on LCD reflects rapid growth in China’s premium monitor market.

According to global market tracker Omdia, China accounted for 24.1 percent of global monitor shipments last year, surpassing North America at 22.3 percent to become the world’s largest monitor market.

The OLED monitor market in China is expanding quickly. Data from market researcher IDC showed OLED monitor sales in China surged to 570,000 units last year from 30,000 units in 2023. Revenue from such products jumped more than tenfold over the same period to $328 million from $29 million.

Gaming monitors are driving the rapid expansion of China’s monitor market.

China is one of the world’s largest gaming markets, and demand for high-performance monitors such as OLED models is rising as the number of e-sports and PC game users grows. OLED displays are considered well suited for gaming because their self-emissive structure enables faster response times and higher contrast.

As Chinese electronics makers begin entering the OLED monitor market in earnest, observers noted that the influence of Korean display companies such as LG Display and Samsung Display Co., which supply panels to firms like TCL, is expected to grow.